mini drifting

[RoofTops]

All the advice I have ever read is the nucs must be put in the dark for at least 3 days. My current batch were made up on a Monday and taken to the mating site and released on Friday evening. I have not lost any yet.

It looks to me as if SixFooter's problem was the bees were not confined long enough so they simply escaped as soon as they could.

When confining the bees they must have plenty of food. If you use young bees, as you should, they won't have many foragers to begin with so keep the food compartment topped up at least for the first few weeks.

 

[Poly Hive]

Since we are not in Australia I truly fail to see what possible use that info is apart from misinforming many about how poly minis perform in heat.

Heat control is an issue for any small colony.

We rather rarely suffer from 40C+ in the UK, said drily looking at a deluge out the window.

Can we confine ourselves to UK conditions so that there is a level playing field with out distractions? It is VERY confusing for the new beekeepers as it is without dragging in extreme conditions we do not suffer from.

PH

 

[SixFooter]

All the advice I have ever read is the nucs must be put in the dark for at least 3 days. My current batch were made up on a Monday and taken to the mating site and released on Friday evening. I have not lost any yet.

It looks to me as if SixFooter's problem was the bees were not confined long enough so they simply escaped as soon as they could.

When confining the bees they must have plenty of food. If you use young bees, as you should, they won't have many foragers to begin with so keep the food compartment topped up at least for the first few weeks.

I'll try confining the bees in the dark for 3 days. This wasnt the advice I was given on a recent Q rearing course. I could also be more selective so as to put in fewer flying bees and more house bees. i.e get them from the supers or give a light shake in the hive to dislodge the flying bees before shaking off the house bees. I'll decorate the minis as well!

 

[RoofTops]

Yes and make sure you only put in about 250ml of bees. A very experienced beekeeper who is raising a large number of queens (over a hundred at a time) told me recently a frequent mistake they make is to put too many bees in and this almost always results in them absconding. I guess they get over-crowded. It is not something I have found but then I am always scratching round for enough bees.

 

[Poly Hive]

I agree with the point about too many bees being an issue. Bernard always used the same mug to make up his, and I do to. Not measured the volume but 250/300ml would seem about right yes.

Bear in mind I am not talking about apidias as I have never used them I posted pics of mine earlier.

PH

 

[SixFooter]

So thats
1) Paint patterns on the mini nucs
2) Shake off flying bees
3) Shake house bees into a bowl and scoop up 300ml into the nucs
4) Keep nucs closed and in the dark
5) Put out 3 days later and scatter as far apart as possible

Sounds like good advice. Thanks all. I probably would have given up if not for this forum!
I think I might even make a donation!

 

[susbees]

I'll try confining the bees in the dark for 3 days. This wasnt the advice I was given on a recent Q rearing course.

This was the advice I was given on a recent Q rearing course (and got it in writing to save my brain scrambling the info ).

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Since we are not in Australia I truly fail to see what possible use that info is apart from misinforming many about how poly minis perform in heat.

Heat control is an issue for any small colony.

We rather rarely suffer from 40C+ in the UK, said drily looking at a deluge out the window.

Can we confine ourselves to UK conditions so that there is a level playing field with out distractions? It is VERY confusing for the new beekeepers as it is without dragging in extreme conditions we do not suffer from.

PH

Misinformation or personal observation? True mentioning Austrailia may not have been helpful.

BUT I think I will differ in my opinon from yours. The key point I have observed is that putting out mini nucs in hot weather in direct sunshine BEFORE they are fully establised (Even after a period of confinement etc...) appears to result in increased absconding, probably though heat stress, at least for me.

What I have found is putting out mini nucs in shady sites is more reliable in hot weather. This is the only point I mention. It may be of help to others.

Bear in mind it is not the ambient temperature that is the root cause of the problem but rather the radiant heat from the sun heating the polystyrene. Polystyrene is a good insulator but even so, in direct sunshine, the inside of the mini nuc may get hot enough (in my opinion) to stress the bees.